I knew that I wanted to take the kids to Fort Boonesborough. Mark really enjoys history and we thought being able to interact with interpreters and learn more about early American history would be great!
Allan printed out directions to the fort for us, and Mark practiced being the navigator. He did an excellent job all week! The drive down was easy and we got there just as the fort opened. We watched a short introductory video that was mostly about Daniel Boone and then went exploring.
We were disappointed that there were only three or four interpreters, but they were kind and offered lots of information. One complimented the children for their good questions and how they listened quietly to the answers. She said she enjoys when homeschoolers come to visit.
Mark was very curious and asked many questions. His “winning question” though was about a stick he found in the weaver’s cabin. We learned that it was an atlatl dart. People used it for hunting. We all learned how it worked and how to throw it. The arrow was too long for all of us, but Mark was able to throw it the furthest. We were told that boys Mark’s age would leave home for a week or two at a time and hunt with these darts to help feed the family while Dad was off on larger hunts.
We enjoyed walking around and then tasting maple candy and dried buffalo jerky from the store. We drove to the original site of the Fort and were surprised on how little it looked.
We decided to look for a Civil War field that was nearby. Even using the maps and the brown information signs on the road, we were not able to find it. After much searching, we gave up and headed home.
Somehow we got lost going around the circle near the hotel. We never did find our turn off. I finally stopped at a gas station and asked for directions. The gentlemen who showed me was very helpful. He took me the “short cut” so I “wouldn’t get lost”. The circle was full of “spokes” through the city, and the spoke we were on was the one we needed to go straight to where Allan was having class! We drove that road every day we were in Lexington.
We enjoyed walking to an Indian restaurant for dinner. We tried some new foods that everyone liked and had a little leftover for lunch another day.